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The Ginger Man (Paperback)
J.P. Donleavy; Introduction by Jay McInerney
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R474
R405
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First published in Paris in 1955, and originally banned in the
United States, J. P. Donleavy's first novel is now recognized the
world over as a masterpiece and a modern classic of the highest
order. Set in Ireland just after World War II, "The Ginger Man" is
J. P. Donleavy's wildly funny, picaresque classic novel of the
misadventures of Sebastian Dangerfield, a young American
ne'er-do-well studying at Trinity College in Dublin. He barely has
time for his studies and avoids bill collectors, makes love to
almost anything in a skirt, and tries to survive without having to
descend into the bottomless pit of steady work. Dangerfield's
appetite for women, liquor, and general roguishness is
insatiable--and he satisfies it with endless charm.
The New York Times Book Review called The Beastly Beatitudes of
Balthazar B, J. P. Donleavy's hilarious, bittersweet tale of a lost
young man's existential odyssey, a triumphant piece of writing,
achieved with that total authority, total mastery which shows that
a fine writer is fully extended.... In the years before and after
World War II, Balthazar B is the world's last shy, elegant young
man. Born to riches in Paris and raised by his governess, Balthazar
is shipped off to a British boarding school, where he meets the
noble but naughty Beefy. The duo matriculate to Trinity College,
Dublin, where Balthazar reads zoology and Beefy prepares for holy
orders, all the while sharing amorous adventures high and low,
until their university careers come to an abrupt and decidedly
unholy end. Written with trademark bravado and a healthy dose of
sincerity, The Beastly Beatitudes of Balthazar B is vintage
Donleavy.
Once the squire of the mansion Andromeda Park and now a mere
menial, Darcy Dancer embarks upon a series of adventures across the
country and in bohemian Dublin in search of his lost youth. A
hilariously comic, poignant novel of a remarkable young man's
coming of age.
A Fairy Tale of New York is a funny, lusty, and sad novel of comic
genius. Returning from study abroad, Cornelius Christian enters
customs with his luggage and his dead wife. His first encounter in
New York is with a funeral director, with whom he reluctantly takes
employment to pay for the burial expenses. In the course of his
duties he meets the beautiful Fanny Sourpuss over her millionaire
husband's dead body. However, his over-enthusiastic handling of his
first corpse lands him in court. Cornelius Christian wanders
through the great sad cathedral that is New York, examining the
human condition in all its comic pathos and lonely absurdity.
Whether lingering in the Automat drinking from half empty coffee
cups and stealing baked beans from the plates of customers who go
looking for ketchup, or finding love on a street corner only to end
up fighting his way out of a hooker's fists, Cornelius Christian,
heroic anti-hero, sings of life's goodness in the wake of disaster.
Feckless, unwashed, charming, penurious Sebastian Balfe
Dangerfield, Trinity College Law student, Irish American with an
English Accent, maroon in the ould country and dreaming of dollars
and ready women, stumbles from the public house to the pawnbrokers,
murmuring delusive enticements in the ear of any girl who'll
listen, in delirious search of freedom, wealth, and the recognition
he feels is his due. Lyrical and ribald, illuminating, poignant and
hugely entertaining, The Ginger Man is a work of authentic comic
genius.
*Accompanied by unseen photographs from the Donleavy archive
*Includes a poignant memoir of Gainor Crist, the man who inspired
Sebastian Dangerfield, by his daughter, Mariana *The Lilliput Press
will publish Donleavy's 27th book, the novel 'A Letter Marked
Personal' in the spring of 2019. Showcasing for the first time 220
of renowned author J.P. Donleavy's most intimate letters, this
scrupulously edited collection throws an extraordinary light on the
composition, publication and afterlife of The Ginger Man --- the
genesis of a masterpiece that went on to sell 60 million copies
around the world. Spanning the late 1940s to the early 1980s, the
letters chronicle the author's scandalous exchanges between Gainor
Crist and Arthur Kenneth Donoghue, his Trinity College friends who
inspired the infamous characters Sebastian Dangerfield and Kenneth
O'Keefe. As well as providing a comprehensive picture of Donleavy
and those closest to him, the book provides a glimpse of the lives
of Donleavy, Crist and Donoghue as they venture into the wider
world and encounter some of the twentieth century's most
influential people along the way. The book features letters to
writers Brendan Behan and William Nicholson; actors Richard Harris
and Julie Andrews, and Donleavy's publishers Seymour Lawrence and
Maurice Giordias amongst others. This unique collection, enriched
by images and letter facsimiles, is sure to appeal to a new
generation of Donleavy fans and scholars.
Jocelyn Guenevere Marchantiere Jones is an elegant forty-two,
living a comfortable life despite being married to a strong, silent
man, who is neither strong nor silent, but a bore. One day the bore
comes home and announces he's leaving Joy for a bit of "fresh
flesh." Joy, ever the lady, divorces in style without groveling or
revenge only to find her financial resources quickly dwindling.
Alone in her oversized Scarsdale home, depression sets in. Bottle
of Polish vodka in hand, she takes a shotgun to the TV, drives her
lawnmower round the garden at midnight, and otherwise scandalizes
her neighbors. And so she sells her home, moves to a smaller
apartment, and settles into a new, frugal lifestyle. However,
tighter finances mean she must find thrifty pastimes. Joy couldn't
have found a more perfect activity than spending her days exploring
the city's fine museums. There is one slight hitch - the facilities
of the Met, the Frick, etc., are not up to Joy's standards. Being a
lady, Joy always follows one of her grandmother's truisms: "Ladies
should only take a pee in clean rest rooms." This leads her into
some of Manhattan's most distinguished rest rooms, including one in
a funeral home - where she finds her fortunes turned on end.
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